484 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IJak 18, l«Si. 



that they would not attempt to ctosstlie Welcome, and, once 

 among i) branch o£ his own tribe, he made his way back to 

 Whale Point after an absence, of nearly a year, nil his 

 friends having- Jong since believed him dead, and his wife 

 having efEectsally played the E h irdeo trick on him. 



There are so mauy varieties of suds with different habits 

 thai Hie hunting of these creatureB differs cous'idcrahly ae> 

 cording to the kind. The ook-joofc, or great seal, is an im- 

 mense fellow and weighs probably a half or a third that of 

 Em average walrus, measuring- often ten feet in length. 

 Their capture does not d lifer considerably from thai o) II 

 walrus, although probably a greater proportion of them 

 are captured bj the /.<',„:• and float method than in any other 

 way. It is not plentiful in any part of the Arctic seas, that 

 is, it never congregates in herds or shoals as is She wont of 

 Dtller species, but is always seen singly or it! pairs. On the 

 western coast of the Adelaide Peninsula, .tutting into the 

 Arctic Sea. is the country of the Ook-jook-liks, or great seal- 

 eaters, and there they arc reported to be very common, 



The hide of this seal i>- of the utmost importance in the 

 Esquimau economy, its skin being the onlj one considered 



hi for making the hunting linPS already described as used by 

 the /dirk men and others in harpooning- seal and walrus, for 

 it may be truly said dial (heir very life depends ou this 

 line, which is wound around their neck, running out easily, 

 rapidly, and without knots or entanglements when pulled 

 by the harpooned animal. By some natives it is called the 

 •■ihotig-seal." Its thick skin Is lltwaj'fi used to make the 

 sole-- of the sealskin boots and slippers, and before it is 

 sewed on it is rendered absolutely impervious to water by 

 being chewed for two or three days by some of the old 

 W omen of the tribe. It I lien looks like finely grained leather, 

 i hi the 33d of July in '78, while off the eastern entrance 

 toHlldSOn's Straits. 1 bad my flfesl view of a "bladdor- 

 tiose" seal wallowing around on a small piece of ice about a 

 mile away and evidently enjoying himself to the full OX- 

 Tent of hi* limited habitation. It -eemed to be about two- 

 thirds the size of the ook-jook. some seven or eight feet in 

 length, His unshapely head, which he kept constantly 

 swaying to and fro In the air. looked uot unlike that of a 

 horse with a large nose bag on, and from which peculiarity 

 lie deriees his unpoetii al name. At a distance this inflation 

 looks as if it was on his nose, but is really on his forehead. 

 His -e-dship fell a victim to the rifles' of a neighboring 

 whaler, wail ing like us for the ice pack to open. It is the 

 most pugnacious of all the seals (a really harmless Species of 

 animals), ami when irritated by wounds or close pursuit, it 

 l ferociously on its pursuer, splashing him with 



Mitiw! gffierg. 



THE BIRDS OF MAINE. 



With Annotations of their Comparative Abun 



water and snappingat him spitefully. By some the hunting 

 of the • 'bladder-nose" in a l-inl. isconsidi red dangerous sport 



The "saddle-back" seal is the one pursued by the sealing 

 ships in the Spitsbergen, and Newfoundland seas, and 

 gomcin immense shoals, is .•aught in great quantities by 

 simply sending a pam on the ice and knocking them over 

 the heads with chilis. Their skins are used principally in 

 making kid gloves, about two-l birds of which are derived 

 from this source, so f understand, the other third being sup- 

 plied by the monkey skin-, of Brazil. The only inference 

 left is that the name of these gauntlets must be taken from 

 the animals thai wear them and not those from which they 

 arc derived. 



Then- are migratory seal visiting some parts of the 

 Arctic, but not with sufficient certainty to depend upon 

 them for food aDd so forth, at all periods and all districts. 

 The west coast of Greenland is the especially favored one. 

 The hmir/Mi. or fresh-water, or spoiled seals, are not very 

 numerous, and are generally found in the mouths of rivers 

 and seeured l,y shooting them with a ritle. they are beau- 

 lil'ully spotted, the blotches decreasing in size and intensity 

 from the back around to the flanks. They are in prime con- 

 dition in Hudson's Bay about Auuu-t Those of Hudson's 

 Straits seem to be the finest in the Arctic. Tie 

 -kin is often seen in civilization made into shopping-bags, 

 valises, etc. 



The seal par tseretlence, in Esquimau land, is the nafo-tliveik 

 or common Real, Its skin is used for making boots and 

 Slippers, for summer clothing, for covering their kinks and 

 for making their tents. It is one of the most reliable 

 sources of food, and the oil forms the greater share of 

 thai tlBCd by the natives. Its pursuit vaiies with the season. 

 During the winter time, and when the ice is at its thickest 

 and covered with drills of snow, the common seal works 

 Its way through the ice by a hole just large enough to admit 

 his body, and then makes a dome in the snow whose apex 

 is cut throuarh Ity an aperture about the size of a rpiar- 

 ter of a dollar, which is called its -'blow- hole," and 

 through which it breathes when it visits these places. 



This snow dome, with i's little, aperture-, is called , the 

 og-lo, and even an Esquimau hunter would be likely to pass 

 one without notice, as nothing shows on the Surface of the 

 snow. The native, however, has a powerful ally in detect- 

 ing them. This is the keen scent of his dog's nose; and 

 when once found he sits down by it with the point of the 

 at the 'blow- hole" and waits until he hears pussy 

 blowing, wheu he thrusts it through, impaling (lie seal upon 

 its barb and worrying if out and killing it as described with 

 the walrus. The'bunlci- may have to wait only an hour or 

 SO before one blows, Inn cases are on record, when iu times 

 of famine and great scarcity of seal, where they have sat 



fur Iwo and three days immovable at one seal hole. 



Jot; lold me that' alter sitting at one of these holes all 

 night he went to sleep ami tumbled over backward olf the 

 block of snow be had cul for a seat, and which did not 

 awaken him at the time, but when he did come to he was 

 paralyzed with fright at beholding what he took to be a 

 polar bear staring him square hi the face, but which a 



peetion in the gloom revealed to be one of his legs 

 Standing straight up and swathed in its huge hairy cloth- 

 ing. Iu the spring the snow melt'-, on the ice and llie water 

 drains off, The seal then come out on the ice to bask in 

 the sun and warm weather and then the hunter 

 crawls upon them until he gets close enough to 

 shoot them through tin- head, Should the seal look lip, the 

 hunter remains motionless or imitates the action Of the 

 seal. To kill a sea] iu this way is the best, test, of huntsman- 

 ship in tic- Arctic, as the animals arc then unusually wary. 

 When, in the .summer, the ice has broken up, they are pur- 

 sued in the //.'/.- iviih harpoon-,. 



All of the above arc known ,-ls "hair seals, ' their skins 

 being of but little value except as some form of leather. 

 The "fur seal" is never hunted by sportsmen, being mono- 

 polized in his home in Behring's Sea by companies with ex- 

 ehisive charters for his killing. From them we get our 

 sealskin sacks, muffs, gloves and caps with which we are 

 all so familiar. 



|TO UK COXTlNCED.l 



Dates of Migration, Breeding Habits, etc. 

 BY EVEHtri SMITH. 



86. Sharp-tailed Sparrow— Ammodromm eaudaeutm Ami. 

 Cs. 24.(1, Ridg. 2(11.— Common. Arrives in May. Frequents 

 meadows and marshes near the coast. Breeds on the 

 ground. I, ays from four to six eggs, greenish white with 

 brown spots, in .Tune. 



87. Swamp Sparrow — Al/imodwmVS palvsM-H And. : M<lm- 

 pita palUHtrw Ridg, 233. Qj. 243. — Common. Arrives in 

 March and April. Breeds on the ground. Lays five green? 

 ish eggs, white with In-own spots, 



88. Lincoln's Sparrow— Peucm UnCuliU And,- M,Joxp/m 

 Mna>llw'Bi&%. '334, Cs. 242.— A regular migrant. Arrives in 

 May, and quickly passes to the north and east. Possibly a 

 few- breed in Maine. Thin species was found breeding in 

 Labrador by Audubon, and he named it iu compliment lo 

 bis companion, Thomas Lincoln Esq., of Dennysville, Ale., 

 who procured the first specimen described. This species 

 much resembles the common song sparrow next named, but, 

 ni.i.v n.adilybe distinguished by tin: absence of the dark 

 breast spot which is so conspicuous upon the latter, 



80. Song Sparrow— /<>/«///'&< nnhdiii And.; Jfrlnxpim 

 fiweiata Uidg. 231. Cs. 244.— Abundant Arrives in March 

 and early iu April. Breeds, Usually ou the ground and low 

 bushes, commonly two broods. Lays five dull whitish 

 eggs, spotted with brown. The first "complement laid in 



!)'(), White-crowned Sparrow— Priiif/illa. km'ophryx Ami.; 



Zomitriclii" /<-iif'ip// >■;/■■! Hide-, 2nd, Cs, 27li— Cot on migrant 



Arrives in April. No record of breeding in Maine." Mr. 

 Harry Merrill reports a bird of Ibis species taken near 

 Bangor, "July 27 v 1880." An unusual occurrence, as the 

 species is rarely found here in summer, and nor abundant 

 at any season, 



01. White-throated Sparrow, "Peabody Bird. "— Wi'i/lffillii 

 ■paui8fflnr t ,iri.t Aud., ZouolrHiiv ti'M-»!!f* 'Ridg. 209; Cs.' 275 

 Common; arrives in April and early in May. Breeds usually 

 on the ground; lays four or more greenish white eggs, with 

 brown spots, early in June. This bird is locally known as 

 the ''Peabody Bird" ou account of the final notes f its 

 familiar song, which may be thus syllabled: I— see — >/c/. 

 Podmtii, I'aiMi/, l'<-iihi»j>i. Mr. .1. C. Mead shot a male 

 specimen during a seven- snowstorm, December 22, 1879. 

 Thisbird wasineompam wuha small flock of tree sparrows. 

 The thermometer recorded twenty degrees below zero the 

 day previous. I observed a specimen at Searboro, Me,. 

 April 6, 1882. with a small (lock of purple finches. Both the 

 birds cited were here at unusual dates. 



02. Tree Sparrow— Emberiw canadensis Ami: BpkeOA 



monldiin Ridg. 2IH-. Spiz.H,, ,„„nik»!,i Cs., 2(18. Common; 

 abundant during migrations, and birds of Ibis species are 

 commonly found during winter. Arrives early in April. 



93. Chirping Sparrow, "nan Bird"— Kmi* rim .mci/i '/,« And. ; 

 1 HWft'wPUdg. 211, Cs. 2(10.— Abundant. Arrives 



d early in May. Breeds; tw.o broods; lays, four or 

 eggs with dark brown spots, in May and June, 

 s sometimes termed the "hair bird," because its 

 illy composed iii pail or entirely of hair, such as 

 is shed from the manes and tails of horses, domestic cattle, 

 etc, The young birds of the first brood usually fly before 

 duly 1. 



94. Field Sparrow— Emherim piixilh. Ami.; Spizrlhi 

 jvixiHn Ridg. 214; SpMfo agreulu Cs. 271. Common. 

 Arrives in April and early in May. Breeds: two broods. 

 Lays four greenish white eggs with brown spots, in May and 

 June. 



Ho, Blue Snowbird — Xiphirn hi/< nudix And.; ,Inito> hip- 

 ,„nli:< Ridg. 217. Cs. 2iil.— Abundant Arrives in March. 

 Sometimes found heie during winter. Breeds on the. ground; 

 probably two broods each season. Lays four white eggs 

 with brown spots, in June. The spring song of this bird is 

 sweet and low, similar to that of a canary bird, bill softer, 

 with a trill like that of the song sparrow interpolated. 



96. Domestic Sparrow — Vrh,<plhi <l,im<*lh'H Linnteus 

 (17li(5): Pam- 1' d'tniex/irux Cs. 19.2. — Abundant iu many of (he 

 cities of Maine. Breeds in bird houses erected for 'its use, 

 also on cornices of buildings, among house vines, etc. This 

 species was lirst: introduced lo North Amen -a by the late 

 Thomas- A mory Deblois, of Portland. Maine. 'The few 

 birds then Imported (1858) bred in the vicinity where liber- 

 ated (corner of Park and Congress streets. Portland oily), 

 but after a few years bad elapsed none were seen. Other 

 birds of the species were at various times subsequently 

 brought here aud liberated, until their increased number's 

 have now assured their permanency in Maine. Their 

 presence has materially lessened the numbers of our native 

 insectivorous and song birds once frequenting tl 

 these sparrows have become a nuisance in some respocl 

 lu the mouth of January, 1870, 1 shot a sparrow of this 

 I'm a country village in St.. Maurice county, Province 

 of Quebec. Canada — probably a straggler from the city of 

 Montreal or from Quebec. Now that the practice of feeding 

 these sparrows has iu a great measure subsided, they are 

 little good. But their merits arc exceeded 



spring arrivals of this species, extending thrr 

 forty live consecutive years (eyecplinir' the 

 181lb is of interest in showing the i . .■, ' 



the arrivals of birds at their breedim: pi -, 



This record was compiled froi 



in the town of Warren, Knox county, Maine, by Cyrus 

 Baton, A. M., D. Dieke, 3d, and othtos. When the 

 notes of the observers differed, the earliest date was selected 

 for ibis record: 



-vcriod of 

 80(i and 



needing 

 made 



1805 Mnv IS 



l«00 — 



ISW May it 



J808-. 

 I SOIL. 



I82& ,. 

 it at... 



lSJJII.. . 



1810 



1 811 



ISIS,. , 

 IBIS... . 

 1814... 

 1816.. 



IK1B 



1817 



1818 



ISl'.l.. , 

 18®)..... 

 1821. 

 1883 ... 



1833 



1824. 

 1835, , 



1*37 



... ...May IS 



May 11 



.. .May 11 



May IT 



May CI 



May 17 







188!)... . 



...lM.-i.vl!' 



(810.... 



. .May If 



JS41 



- . . , May 14 



ISIS 



...May 11 



1848 



...May If, 



1SII. . 



..May l.'i 



lHir, 



.M.-n 13 



1840 



. Slav U 



1SI7 



....JlavlS 



ISIS 



.... May 1" 



1849 . . . 



....Mnv 16 



IK.-HI 



..Mnv 10 



. Mdj II 



May IB 



Rid a. 258, Cs. 318. — Common, except iu e 

 the State. Arrives iu April. Oregark 

 Makes no nest, hut distributes its four c 

 ne.sls of small birds, and imposes the ( 

 and rearing Ibe young upon the parents 

 The nests of warblers, thrushes and oth 

 Uppsltioa. The eggs are 



Xpmlhi 

 a April 



This bin 



The extreme variation of (lie dates of arrivals during all 

 this period was but nine days. The earliest date May 111, 

 the latest Alay 1-1. 



The following lis! of arrivals al Paris Hill, Oxford county, 

 Me., arc from the notes of Messrs. Samuel U, Carter, and 



Jarvis L. Garter: 1860, May 14; 1861, Maj lv: 186% 



Mav 17: 1SI18, May 11; ISlio, May 9: lSflU, May If; 18C7, 

 May 15; 1.87?, May 17; 1878. May 15; 1879, May l5i 1880 

 May Hi; 1881. May 20. KarlieVl dale May <J, the latest 

 May 20, 



101. Cow bird — MvUAhrii* pecwis Aud.: Motel/mm ater 

 rnmost part of 



Polygamous, 

 re eggs in I he 



of incubation 



notber family, 

 lirds are sub 

 aily laid, early 

 June, and are white, entirely covered with ' reddish o'r 

 gravish-browu dots. The cowbird sometimes a lights upon 

 the backs of cattle, but is not often seen to do so In Maine, 

 The pastures are the favorite resorts of this bird while 

 here. 



Although sometimes arriving as early as March, and seen 

 here as late as November, it is not a constant summer resi- 

 dent in any restricted locality. H habitually shirks the 

 labor of rearing its young, and leads a. Bohemian life, wan 

 dering where fancy leads, or when a lack of ils Favorite fund 



impels. 



102. Redwiuged Blackbird— A//ti<?irx jihivirkfvs Aud.. 

 Ridg. aril, Cs. :il(h— Abundant, Arrives in April. Broods, 

 on bushes iii swampy places. Lays live or six leaden-gray 

 eggs with irresnilar streaks and blotches of very dark brown. 

 in May and June. 



10:S. Meadow Lark — Sl,u-„<l]<ih<dorini,i<,t And.; si,,,.,,,!!,, 

 magna Ridg. 2tS3, Cs. 320. — Common in Western Maine. 

 Arrives in April. Breeds, on the ground, and Jays fonj 



White, with light brown spots. Not common 

 d almost unknown east of 

 ■ss abundant in western part 

 airs ago. when birds of this 

 •egated in numbers ou the 

 e autumn migrations, which 



upwtus Aud.. Kidg. 2 70. 

 lly occurs as an irregular 



reported by Mr! Bo.rdmau 



at. the eastern boundary of the SIMe. bul 



tre occurrence in Southwestern 



no instance within my knowledge 



east 



if the 



Ken n 



d.iec Valley, ai 



the Pen obs 



cot V 



dley 



Much I 



of tl 



e Stat 



B now 



than 



twenty y 



spec 



cs we 



•e to 1 



e foi 



ind Cong 



Oeel 



iredi 



l Sep 



embt 



^ uring t 



10 



I. On 



hard 



( -no 



e- letenii 



Cs. : 



24.— 1 



tare. 



A I -I 



u-ently < 



mil 



it is of onl> 



Maine, and there has la 

 of its breeding here. 



1(15. Baltimore Oriole. Golden Orioh — &ft 

 And.: Mmisi/titonlnlliAs. 271. Cs. a2fl. 



'•'IX 



Maine. 

 in the i a.-tern 

 breeds usualh 

 the upper dro 



Ulile 



,-iih 



ist to til 



nost part of tl 

 on elm 

 iping tea 



iPe 



Valley. Ve 



htiltiuini'' 



in West- 



rare 



Arrives earlv in May: 

 its hanging nest to 

 our or five eggs, pure 

 June. This bird of 

 ell known because of 

 and gardens, where it renders 

 numbers of the insects fhatdc- 



nd elm tree-.. The presence of 



id Hi 

 ing song i 



bright plumage aud pie: 

 its habit of frequenting 

 good service by eating ■ 

 stroy the foliage, of frui 

 the domestic sparrows in tin 



worm pest that has, within a few ye 



, our Hue elm trees. But it is worthy i 



i;i , following the increase of those worn 



increase in the abuudauce of the 



traded, no doubt, by the abuudane 



and it was unusual to see these birds feeding anywhere ex- 

 cept on the fruit of elm trees. Alighting on the slender 



by thei 



'97. Fox Sparrow — FrtnrpUo. i/iin-i' And. ; I'" .w,-, 

 Uidg 235, Cs. 282. --Abundant during migrations. Arrives 

 iu March and April, Xot known to breed in Maine. 



98. Indigo Bird, indigo Bunting — Spi;n I'lpnni / And. -. 

 Paxxiriiia i'U'iiii'i Kidg. 218. Cs. 295.— Common in Western 

 Maine. Breeds on bushels or small tree-.. Not very common 

 cast of the Kennebec \ alley, and rather rare iu ihe Penob- 

 seoit Valley and further east, 



99. Toliec Bunting, "(AK-v,:mk. : '—Pi/i//', Bi'uffmpt&almite 

 Aud.. Ridg. ■!'■■: '. S. 30.1. — Common oulhe plab.isin .Western 

 Maine, in the Saco Valley, aud east to the Kennebec Valley. 

 K;o-e further east anil almost unknown east of the Penobscot 

 Valley. In N. 0. C. Bull., April, 1882, Mr. Montague 

 Chamberlain has reported a specimen -.-bothy Mr. J. Belyea 

 at Irishtown, New Brunswick, Ma.\ 8, 1881, and now in the 

 collection Of the Nat IT ist Society of St. John. N. B." 

 Arrives early in May. Breeds on the ground, eggs dull 

 white with purple brow n spots and blotches, laid in June 

 Family Ictkuib.-k; Oiuolks, Stablings, Blackbirds, etc 



100. Bobolink -Botteltonys my^e&nn Aud., Ridg. 257, 

 Cs. 312. — Abundant Arrives in the middle of May. "Breeds 

 OH the ground, and lays live or six dull white eggs with 

 brown and drab spots, in June. The following record of 



"Forest City" 



oriole 

 sof to 



■f Maine (Port- 

 re to check Ihe 

 ged so many of 

 !iaf immediately 

 was a marked 



in this city, al- 

 favorite 'food. 



branches of the elm: 

 rapidly pick off the 

 worms consumed at 

 vclous. By walchii 

 ing. witli the aid of 

 fair estimate of wor 

 Following the not 

 there was a marked 

 it may be well belie' 

 in producing Ihe change 

 fobage of the elm trees 



would peer under (he leaves aud 

 s there "found. The number of 

 tl by a single oriole seemed mar 



iif'these orioles while thus feed 



1 lit 



1-glass. I was able to make a 



1 Hi 



n abundance of the oriole., 

 f the nor :i.-ance, and 



e birds w-ere active agents 

 worms which destroy the 



dike many insects, present 

 and active throughout a petiod of many weel^, so that some 

 trees, stripped of their early foliage, put forth a nee gli 

 the same season, only to be destroyed by the same cause, ami 

 this resulted, in some instances, in tile death of the trees 

 whose vitality was thus exhausted. By an estimate based 

 upon actual count (he numbers of these worms consumed 

 in a single season by one pair of orioles and their progeu,\ 

 could only be expressed by many hundred thousand. 



106. Rusty Gtrackle— tytiseaim ferrwjineiui \ud.. Scolecfi 

 phu'i'ix f>rr»!/i/n:>i* Kidg. 273. Cs. 331. -Abundant iu locali- 

 ties'. Arrives in March aud April. Breeds, on trees, and 

 lavs in May from four to six pale greenish eggs, bkitflbed 

 with onrpic and brown, lhave observed this spedescoa- 

 eregaied hi large docks as early as July, apparently prepar* 

 ing to depart for the South. During the breeding season 

 the male may often be seen sfrntting on the ground, with 

 tail partly spread and the central feathers depressed, so that 



